PHOENIX — A local man says he was nearly struck by a stray bullet — a bullet that police say was fired during an officer-involved shootout more than a half-mile away.
At first, Newell Newberry thought he was being targeted. But after calling 911, he learned it was a bullet from an incident several blocks away.
"I heard a big bang which scared me and I jumped back,” Newberry said.
Newberry was standing in his kitchen when the bullet crashed through his window and hit his microwave. He was just a few inches away from being struck.
"I saw where it ricocheted and the cops found where it hit on the TV,” Newberry said.
The bullet ultimately stopped underneath the stove.
“Yeah, I’ve got nine lives and one of them is gone. It's a miracle it missed me," Newberry said. "Yeah, it was pretty close.”
The police say the bullet was fired during an incident in which 42-year-old Aiden Carlos allegedly violated a protection order. Police responded to the home and say Carlos was armed with a handgun, and they say he pointed it at an officer.
Carlos was eventually shot by police and taken into custody. He was later taken to a hospital.
Police later learned Carlos was involved in an armed robbery just a few hours before, and they say that string of events put others in danger.
"They were just, ‘man, you're lucky.’" Newberry said. "They kept saying, ‘you're lucky.’ I know I was lucky because you could see where it hit.”
Police spoke with Newberry at his home later that night. They used a search warrant to collect the bullet for their investigation.
“The cops said they could travel up over a mile, a bullet, if it’s shot and doesn’t hit anything,” Newberry said.
Newberry is just thankful to be alive, and for the microwave he says saved his life.
"I think God was with me, that's for sure,” Newberry said.
This story was originally published by Ashley Paredez on Scripps station KNXV in Phoenix.
